The sun was shining harshly above the white clouds that were drifting in an endless blue sky. Two figures were enjoying the shadows that those clouds created, walking on white sand that burned the cowhide soles, and were heading towards what used to be a sea-hardened ship.

  The closer Orion got to the wreckage of the Endurance, the more he started to wonder how he survived the whole ordeal. Living through the food and water scarcity and, not to forget, that disastrous storm was nothing short of a miracle, but seeing what that carnage has left behind made it even more impossible in his head. 'I am never touching a boat again.'

  The oh-so-familiar waves were crashing on lands that were unknown to him. With every crash against the white sand, Orion felt the pressure on his body slowly disappear, but that pressure switched places for another uncomfortable pain. The adrenaline had suppressed his body from making its damage known, but now all the alarm bells were going off.

  Orion checked the most painful parts and saw that there was a small but deep wound in his left thigh. Then he noticed that a small piece of wood stuck out from his malnourished right arm.

  The young man shook his head and with it the idea of dread and helplessness. There were more important things to focus on, and one of those was supposed to be behind the wreckage in front of him.

  So he moved his legs, one painful step after the other. The hooded figure in front of him also seemed to struggle while walking, not in the same way Orion did. It looked like the unknown figure was fighting old age.

  The closer he got to the wreckage, the more rubble appeared on the white sand. Broken crates, glass bottles, and wooden planks were lying all over. Orion wasn't bothered nor interested in it, so he kept walking forward—that was until he saw a sturdy looking branch that was shaped like a cane. It almost felt like the tree grew it for that purpose.

  Orion sighed in relief. Finally a bit of luck, he thought. He grabbed the branch, but before he walked further, he stared at the hooded figure.

  Can't use a cane while an elder is struggling right before my eyes, can I?

  He shook his head again and shouted, "Catch!"

  The wooden branch flew through the sky in the direction of the hooded figure. Orion had intended to throw the cane near the hooded figure, but his throw was off and it was now headed to the elder's head.

  Oh no.

  Orion expected to hear a scream of pain or the noise of the cane hitting the elder's head, but there was no noise. The cane did not even hit the elder's head, the most surprising thing was that it was floating right above the elder.

  The elder then slowly turned his head. The pressure on Orion's body rose, but it didn't feel like the same pressure as before—it felt threatening.

  The hooded figure took his gaze off Orion, saw the branch, inspected it, and grabbed it out of the air. As suddenly as the pressure built up, it disappeared. The figure took the branch, put the tip of it on the sand, nodded in a thankful manner to Orion, and then continued walking forward.

  "How did you do that?" the young man asked. But there was no reply.

  The wreckage was now a few meters ahead of the two; the biggest and most visible part of what used to be the Endurance was half of the hull and the bow. The figurehead, which held the appearance of a beautiful woman, was pointing towards the sky, like it was longing for the heavens above. 'Thank you,' Orion thought while looking at the sad but inspiring sight.

  "ORION?"

  A yell came from behind a few planks that were stacked against each other, forming some makeshift cover. A small silhouette appeared from the darkness created by that cover. It was a girl with long black hair and pale white skin—not as white as the sand she stood on, but it was a very close match.

  "LAYLA!"

  Orion gathered his last remaining energy and ran towards his fellow castaway, passing the elder that brought him here, only stopping when he was in front of the girl that had experienced the same hardships that he had.

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  "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" he asked while inspecting Layla from head to toe.

  The girl put on an annoyed expression while looking at the piece of wood inside Orion's right arm. "Of course I am okay, worry about yourself, dimwit. You have a piece of wood sticking out... Who is that?" she asked while pointing towards the elder with a cane in his right hand.

  Orion looked back towards the hooded figure and responded, "I have no idea, but he brought me to you. I think that he is from another nation, he isn't very fluent in Elderian."

  Orion looked behind the girl and saw a campfire with some fish roasting above it, the smell of it made his belly tremble and stir.

  "Do you have any idea which nation he hails from?" the girl asked, ignoring the hungry looks from Orion.

  The young man looked confused. "Well, definitely not from Bolton, otherwise we would be dead or enslaved right now. Why are you asking me? Aren't you supposed to be the more knowledgeable one out of the two of us?"

  Layla’s expression darkened. "I certainly am. But there is only the beach and dunes here as far as the eyes can see. I can't recognise a nation from only that information. You have spoken with that local, so you are supposed to know something, right?"

  Orion shook his head, implying he did not know the answer. His stomach was still making noise.

  The girl sighed. "You useless bum, I'll ask him myself then. Go on and eat while I do everything."

  I am glad she is doing fine, but God is it so difficult being nice for once. Orion thought.

  He sat around the campfire and took one of the fish that was impaled on a stick. Layla, on the other hand, approached the hooded figure.

  "Hello sir, thank you for bringing that idiot to me. As you probably are aware, we come from Eldera and have been stranded here after a big sea storm. Could you please tell me where we are?"

  The elder shook his head from left to right while staying silent.

  "Can you understand me?"

  The elder shook his head up and down, still not a word left his mouth.

  Layla’s face was always a great indicator of how she felt—she was and is not very good at hiding her emotions, and it was as clear as day that she was getting annoyed.

  Orion kept looking at the strange conversation in front of him while eating. "Who is your king? What is the capital city of your nation? What is the name of your town or village?"

  The response to all these questions was the same.

  A no without words.

  "Are you unable to speak or something?" the young girl asked, pure annoyance almost dripping from her tongue.

  The elder nodded.

  "Well that's great, the first person we meet is a damn mute."

  "He did speak before, but he sounded very weird," Orion said while gobbling down on his second fish.

  Layla put both her hands on her face, thinking about what to do next. "Is there a settlement nearby?"

  The elder nodded.

  "Could you point towards it?"

  The elder's left hand pointed further down the beach, his hand now fully in the open. Just like Orion thought, it was a hand fully enveloped with white scales and long, dangerous-looking nails.

  Layla, weirded out by the appearance of the hand, slowly backed away from the hooded figure. "Wha... What are you?"

  The hooded figure stood there for a bit. Layla thought he would remain silent like before, but instead an answer came from the elder's mouth.

  "Wu."

  Layla's eyebrows went up. Not only did she not understand his answer, she also felt a pressure building on her chest.

  "Glad to make your acquaintance, Wu, but I would rather know why you have scales on your hand."

  The elder did not answer, but his left hand went towards the hood of the robe. It appeared that he wanted to show his face.

  But suddenly the earth started to rumble. "An earthquake, really?"

  Both Orion and Layla had experienced an earthquake before; Eldera was known for having them often compared to the other nations, so they knew exactly how to react to them.

  The two of them laid on the ground waiting for the trembling to stop. After a few minutes, it finally stopped.

  "I think it's over," Orion said while getting off the ground and sitting back up.

  "You think," Layla said in a sarcastic tone.

  She then turned her head around. "Where is Wu?" she asked.

  Orion, who was grabbing his third fish, responded, "Did a stone hit your head? He is right in front of you, isn't he..."

  But nothing was there. The hooded figure was nowhere to be found. Only the footprints the elder left remained in the white sand.

  "Did you see him walk away?" Orion asked.

  Layla shook her head. "No, why would I ask where Wu is if I saw him walk away, you idiot?"

  The young girl went towards the footsteps and started to investigate them. After a few seconds, she turned towards Orion, who just finished the last fish.

  "There are no footsteps showing that he left," the girl said with a worried expression.